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Sunday, July 30, 2017
Saturday, July 22, 2017
July 8 - July 15, 2017
July 8 - July 15, 2017
Seattle / Vancouver / Whistler Vacation
This year we decided to go to the Pacific Northwest. I wish we had longer than a week because there are so many areas that we would love to visit. I have a conference in Seattle the second part of the week in orthopedic foot and ankle. We flew out of Milwaukee with a direct flight to Seattle. Greta and I sat together, James alone, and Noelle sat with Matt. When sighting the Cascades as we were about to land Greta says, "I see a volcano!" Volcano....mountain...same thing right?
Once to Seattle we rented our vehicle...a mini van. Not the dream jeep or convertible I was hoping for...Matt vetoed that. The closest we got to living that dream was rolling all the windows down and sticking our heads out the windows. We next made our way to Centry Link Field to watch The Sounders (pro Soccor team) play. Matt got us first row seats. How awesome was that!! They played Germany and tied 1-1. Next we loaded up in our mini van and headed to Vancouver. After driving some time we decided to stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream and then the Fred Meyers grocery store to stock up for the week. Crossing the border wasn't too big of a deal. Once entering Vancouver Greta says, "I see Saint Louis!" Sky scrapers remind her of that place.
Finding our condo was a maze!! I think you needed a PhD! We are in downtown Vancouver in a 7th floor 2 bedroom condo. It has a modern feel with stainless steel appliances with lots of whites and silvers. The balcony overlooks the rooftop gardens of other nearby places and a central courtyard with fountains. There is an Olympic size lap pool, dry sauna, hot tub, and fitness room. Our condo is the perfect size for us! We all tend to hang together anyway. After unpacking we went for an evening stroll along the water. We passed a Mexican festival along the way. After a mile or so we turned around and went home to style James hair. He decided this trip he wants to test out a new do.
Sunday
This morning I ran along the water starting at the Canadian port. I made my way to Stanley park and ran back. Stanley park is rimed by a paved path for bikers, runners, and cyclists, called the sea wall. The center of the park is lush and green rainforest with many off road trails. After my run the 5 of us walked to the bike shop to rent our 4 bikes and Greta's tag along. Our trip around Stanley park was 15 miles. We stopped at a beach to venture out on the moss covered rocks and to buy some fresh raspberries at a fruit stand. We also did a little loop off trail. We then locked up our bikes and jumped on a ferry to Granville Island for lunch. Granville island is known for its public market filled with fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables. We explored for a bit and found a cute outdoor restaurant on the water for lunch. We finished up our ride and walked back to our condo. We were all a little spent so we chilled a bit in the condo for awhile before hitting our condo lap pool, dry sauna, and hot tub. James entertained us with his butter fly stroke, we played countless contests of who can hold their breath longest and who can swim under water the farthest. After working up an appetite we made our way back to the condo for dinner...all but James. He crashed at 5pm before dinner. Matt and all of us girls walked downtown to do a little shopping. Greta got a coral sleeveless dress and her first pair of tie shoes (silver ones). Noelle bought a strapless white shirt. Once back to the condo we crashed for the night.
Monday
This morning I ran the same route. Today we started with Capilano Suspension bridge. We walked the bridge and the tree tops boardwalks. It's setting was beautiful, unfortunately the crowds made the beauty less appealing. It made us want to find more remote nature. Next we went to Grouse mountain and climbed the "grouse grind". All 5 of us made it!!! Elevation gain was 2800 feet over 1.8 miles. James and I made it in 72 minutes and Matt and the girls made it in 1 hr 43 minutes. Thank goodness Noelle helped Greta up by playing games of leap frog. The Mike-N-Ike's power ups helped too. Once to the top Noelle found her baseball hat she was looking for. We took our a gondola down and made our way to our final stop of the day....Lynn Creek Canyon Park. This parks beauty was so much nicer without the crowds and expensive admission fees. After hiking and doing another suspension bridge we made our way to the 30 foot pool, mountain water fed. It was freezing cold...maybe 50 degrees at the warmest. There were signs all around the park warning people not to cliff jump....with statistics on how many deaths occur per year as a result. And guess what we witnessed?? Several adrenaline junkies smoking their vapo and jumping off 30-90 foot cliffs. Thank goodness we didn't witness any injuries or deaths. Matt & James went under water and Noelle and Greta went waist deep. I was camera woman. Next we stopped for well earned Dairy Queen blizzards. Even I splurged on a cookie dough blizzard! Once back to our condo we chilled and had dinner. We needed to stock up on some groceries so Matt and I went to Costco. Unfortunately we filled a cart full and weren't able to take it home. Canadian Costco's don't take the Costco card we use in the US. Instead we went down the block to a Asian supermarket. Let's just say we weren't able to get our usual favorites. When in Canada eat like Canadians (maybe I should say Asians).
Tuesday
After my same run route we hit the road early to make it to Whistler. Highway 99 along the coast was gorgeous! Once to Whistler Village we split up. Matt, James, and Noelle went zip lining on Whistler Blackholm mountain and Greta and I did a tree top adventure. Greta and I had a little extra time so we also toured Olympic Village, the site of the 2010 Olympics. We gaucked at the gear shops (North Face and Arterex) and found heatlthy snacks at the "green" coffee shop. Once on our treetop adventure Greta entertained our group with her spunky personality. No bear sightings this time..just bear poop. James and Noelle enjoyed their zip lining. No one chickened out. Matt even got some live go pro video coverage. After rejoining for ice cream at base camp we hopped on our gondola for the peak to peak ride from Whistler to Blackhomb. We had our snow ball fight on top, took some selfies and had an ourselves an early dinner. Our way back down we took the open ski lifts...breezy yet refreshing. We all decided a ski trip is in our future...just not sure when or where yet. On our ride back to Vancouver we stopped at Brandywine Falls. We wanted to hike the trail to swim lake but unfortunately it was closed due to the threat to endangered red frogs. Greta rolled her ankle along the way... good thing she bounced back up! We instead made our way back to the hotel for another swim. I on the other hand showered and sat resting...yes, resting...can you believe it? After they returned from swimming Greta insisted on giving us all back rubs, can't say no to that!
Wednesday
I embraced every step today knowing it was my final morning run in Vancouver. Once back to the condo we packed up and started South. Our initial plan to save all those cold veggies and produce wasn't such a good one. We stopped at 3 gas stations and a Home Depot in search for a cooler. No such luck. We were pulled aside at border control to have them pull out our Canadian bell peppers. No more bell pepper for Jill! After crossing the boarder we stopped at a local pizza joint in Blaine, WA. We finally arrived in Seattle around 4pm. We hit at rush hour. Our condo is in a real cute neighborhood, Belltown. Right outside our place there are several outdoor seated restaurants, quant coffee shops, and high end gear stores like Patagonia, Kau, and Arterex. Our condo is one bedroom with a pull out couch and an air mattresses. Tighter space than the last yet a little more upscale than the last. There is an indoor pool, dry sauna, and hot tub. We went down to pikes market to watch the fish tossing and we bought fresh blueberries and garlic pasta noodles to cook up for dinner. Only the blueberries didn't last for more than 3 minutes. We walked around downtown and checked in for my conference at the Washington Convention center. Matt led our tour around the city streets. We were searching for a place for James to get his hair cut. We finally found a unique place that served beer, had a packman video game, and markers to draw on the glass windows. All of us were entertained while James got his hair cut. The owner even had a dog for Greta to pet. We had dinner in tonight....pasta from Pike's Market. After dinner we crashed.
Thursday
This morning Matt jonined me on my morning run. We ran south of our condo hoping to find a bike path...unfortunately no such luck. We ran in some not so safe areas with homeless people sleeping on the streets. Matt said he was glad he came along. After cooking up cinnamon rolls for the kids we got an early start catching the 7:30AM ferry to Bainbridge. The kids weren't too awake so we got them more sugar loaded breakfast rolls and cookies. After an hour ferry ride we traveled another 75 minutes to Port Angeles. As we were approaching it began misting and the temperature outside was only 55 degrees. We stopped at a Walmart to buy some long pants for Noelle, Greta, and I and a raincoat for myself. Oh, and not to forget the power ups....loads of candy!! We ate our packed lunches in the car so we were well fueled for our hike in the Olympic National park, Hurricane Ridge. As we were approaching the trail head the clouds began to dissipate and the sun came out. The main look out reminded us of the scene from "the sound of music". We had a 1.6 mile trek to the top where we had a 360 degree view of the Cascade mountains of Olympic National Park. The views were unbelievable. We got to the level of snow and even got within 10 feet of 2 deer. We took some panoramic photos with Jill's selfie stick and started our way back down the mountain. There were 2 other stops we were going to hit this day, Lake Crescent with a nearby waterfall and the Hoh Rainforest. Even though it would have been amazing we knew we had a long trip back. Instead we passed on those. All 3 kids, and Matt slept the way back to the ferry while I drove. We had a bit of a wait for the ferry so we walked around the terminal and bought some snacks. Once back to a Seattle we purchased a pizza from the restaurant next door for dinner and made it an early night.
Friday
Today Matt ran with me on my morning run again, this time we went the safer route, north along the water on the bike path....much better scenery. After being passed by an average built woman in her 40's, Matt instantly turned up the pace...we didn't talk about it at the moment but that clearly bugged him to be passed by a woman! Once back towards our condo we stopped at a store to stock up on groceries and made our way back to our condo. We made chocolate pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Matt wanted more of a chill day today so we started with a short swim in the hotel pool. After a merely 20 minutes everyone looked bored so we packed up the car and made our way to Snowqualamine Waterfall. We weren't able to hike to the bottom so we took photos up top and then had our picnic lunches in the car on our way to the REI headquarters. We gaucked at bags and watches and all that gear we wish we could have. Greta got a stuffed owl and a Northface purple multicolored backpack for kindergarten. Noelle got a new teal duffle bag that collapses real small. Matt passed on getting his new watch. Next we made our way to the Frederick Locks. Matt played tour guide as he shared the story of the salmons' life cycle. We then headed back to the condo to shower up and get fancy for our dinner out. I had a pre dinner drink (coconut flavored beverage), on the condo rooftop garden while Matt watched a Net flicks series with Noelle & Greta. This evening we told the older two kids they were in charge of choosing our dinner location. We ended up down at the Seattle pier at The Fisherman's Wharf restaurant. We were right on the water with the sun setting behind us. After dinner we walked back to the condo in search of ice cream. No such luck. We ended up buying some at the local corner store next to our condo. We again crashed rather early tonight....last night in the condo.
Saturday
Today I ran my running route solo. Once back we packed up and checked out of our condo. Our last adventure was the international fountain in Seattle. Noelle and Greta were the only brave ones to get wet. Next we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch and then made our way to the airport. We had a direct flight to Milwaukee. We got home to Stoughton at 11pm.
I think everyone enjoyed the trip....I certainly did. The older two said their favorite was biking through Stanley park. I think I'd have to agree. I did enjoy the grouse grind...especially seeing Greta make it to the top. We picked a good time of year to come here...any other time I think would have had rain. We all agree a skiing trip is in the horizon...maybe we will be back to Whistler?? Until next time....
Sent from my iPad
Seattle / Vancouver / Whistler Vacation
This year we decided to go to the Pacific Northwest. I wish we had longer than a week because there are so many areas that we would love to visit. I have a conference in Seattle the second part of the week in orthopedic foot and ankle. We flew out of Milwaukee with a direct flight to Seattle. Greta and I sat together, James alone, and Noelle sat with Matt. When sighting the Cascades as we were about to land Greta says, "I see a volcano!" Volcano....mountain...same thing right?
Once to Seattle we rented our vehicle...a mini van. Not the dream jeep or convertible I was hoping for...Matt vetoed that. The closest we got to living that dream was rolling all the windows down and sticking our heads out the windows. We next made our way to Centry Link Field to watch The Sounders (pro Soccor team) play. Matt got us first row seats. How awesome was that!! They played Germany and tied 1-1. Next we loaded up in our mini van and headed to Vancouver. After driving some time we decided to stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream and then the Fred Meyers grocery store to stock up for the week. Crossing the border wasn't too big of a deal. Once entering Vancouver Greta says, "I see Saint Louis!" Sky scrapers remind her of that place.
Finding our condo was a maze!! I think you needed a PhD! We are in downtown Vancouver in a 7th floor 2 bedroom condo. It has a modern feel with stainless steel appliances with lots of whites and silvers. The balcony overlooks the rooftop gardens of other nearby places and a central courtyard with fountains. There is an Olympic size lap pool, dry sauna, hot tub, and fitness room. Our condo is the perfect size for us! We all tend to hang together anyway. After unpacking we went for an evening stroll along the water. We passed a Mexican festival along the way. After a mile or so we turned around and went home to style James hair. He decided this trip he wants to test out a new do.
Sunday
This morning I ran along the water starting at the Canadian port. I made my way to Stanley park and ran back. Stanley park is rimed by a paved path for bikers, runners, and cyclists, called the sea wall. The center of the park is lush and green rainforest with many off road trails. After my run the 5 of us walked to the bike shop to rent our 4 bikes and Greta's tag along. Our trip around Stanley park was 15 miles. We stopped at a beach to venture out on the moss covered rocks and to buy some fresh raspberries at a fruit stand. We also did a little loop off trail. We then locked up our bikes and jumped on a ferry to Granville Island for lunch. Granville island is known for its public market filled with fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables. We explored for a bit and found a cute outdoor restaurant on the water for lunch. We finished up our ride and walked back to our condo. We were all a little spent so we chilled a bit in the condo for awhile before hitting our condo lap pool, dry sauna, and hot tub. James entertained us with his butter fly stroke, we played countless contests of who can hold their breath longest and who can swim under water the farthest. After working up an appetite we made our way back to the condo for dinner...all but James. He crashed at 5pm before dinner. Matt and all of us girls walked downtown to do a little shopping. Greta got a coral sleeveless dress and her first pair of tie shoes (silver ones). Noelle bought a strapless white shirt. Once back to the condo we crashed for the night.
Monday
This morning I ran the same route. Today we started with Capilano Suspension bridge. We walked the bridge and the tree tops boardwalks. It's setting was beautiful, unfortunately the crowds made the beauty less appealing. It made us want to find more remote nature. Next we went to Grouse mountain and climbed the "grouse grind". All 5 of us made it!!! Elevation gain was 2800 feet over 1.8 miles. James and I made it in 72 minutes and Matt and the girls made it in 1 hr 43 minutes. Thank goodness Noelle helped Greta up by playing games of leap frog. The Mike-N-Ike's power ups helped too. Once to the top Noelle found her baseball hat she was looking for. We took our a gondola down and made our way to our final stop of the day....Lynn Creek Canyon Park. This parks beauty was so much nicer without the crowds and expensive admission fees. After hiking and doing another suspension bridge we made our way to the 30 foot pool, mountain water fed. It was freezing cold...maybe 50 degrees at the warmest. There were signs all around the park warning people not to cliff jump....with statistics on how many deaths occur per year as a result. And guess what we witnessed?? Several adrenaline junkies smoking their vapo and jumping off 30-90 foot cliffs. Thank goodness we didn't witness any injuries or deaths. Matt & James went under water and Noelle and Greta went waist deep. I was camera woman. Next we stopped for well earned Dairy Queen blizzards. Even I splurged on a cookie dough blizzard! Once back to our condo we chilled and had dinner. We needed to stock up on some groceries so Matt and I went to Costco. Unfortunately we filled a cart full and weren't able to take it home. Canadian Costco's don't take the Costco card we use in the US. Instead we went down the block to a Asian supermarket. Let's just say we weren't able to get our usual favorites. When in Canada eat like Canadians (maybe I should say Asians).
Tuesday
After my same run route we hit the road early to make it to Whistler. Highway 99 along the coast was gorgeous! Once to Whistler Village we split up. Matt, James, and Noelle went zip lining on Whistler Blackholm mountain and Greta and I did a tree top adventure. Greta and I had a little extra time so we also toured Olympic Village, the site of the 2010 Olympics. We gaucked at the gear shops (North Face and Arterex) and found heatlthy snacks at the "green" coffee shop. Once on our treetop adventure Greta entertained our group with her spunky personality. No bear sightings this time..just bear poop. James and Noelle enjoyed their zip lining. No one chickened out. Matt even got some live go pro video coverage. After rejoining for ice cream at base camp we hopped on our gondola for the peak to peak ride from Whistler to Blackhomb. We had our snow ball fight on top, took some selfies and had an ourselves an early dinner. Our way back down we took the open ski lifts...breezy yet refreshing. We all decided a ski trip is in our future...just not sure when or where yet. On our ride back to Vancouver we stopped at Brandywine Falls. We wanted to hike the trail to swim lake but unfortunately it was closed due to the threat to endangered red frogs. Greta rolled her ankle along the way... good thing she bounced back up! We instead made our way back to the hotel for another swim. I on the other hand showered and sat resting...yes, resting...can you believe it? After they returned from swimming Greta insisted on giving us all back rubs, can't say no to that!
Wednesday
I embraced every step today knowing it was my final morning run in Vancouver. Once back to the condo we packed up and started South. Our initial plan to save all those cold veggies and produce wasn't such a good one. We stopped at 3 gas stations and a Home Depot in search for a cooler. No such luck. We were pulled aside at border control to have them pull out our Canadian bell peppers. No more bell pepper for Jill! After crossing the boarder we stopped at a local pizza joint in Blaine, WA. We finally arrived in Seattle around 4pm. We hit at rush hour. Our condo is in a real cute neighborhood, Belltown. Right outside our place there are several outdoor seated restaurants, quant coffee shops, and high end gear stores like Patagonia, Kau, and Arterex. Our condo is one bedroom with a pull out couch and an air mattresses. Tighter space than the last yet a little more upscale than the last. There is an indoor pool, dry sauna, and hot tub. We went down to pikes market to watch the fish tossing and we bought fresh blueberries and garlic pasta noodles to cook up for dinner. Only the blueberries didn't last for more than 3 minutes. We walked around downtown and checked in for my conference at the Washington Convention center. Matt led our tour around the city streets. We were searching for a place for James to get his hair cut. We finally found a unique place that served beer, had a packman video game, and markers to draw on the glass windows. All of us were entertained while James got his hair cut. The owner even had a dog for Greta to pet. We had dinner in tonight....pasta from Pike's Market. After dinner we crashed.
Thursday
This morning Matt jonined me on my morning run. We ran south of our condo hoping to find a bike path...unfortunately no such luck. We ran in some not so safe areas with homeless people sleeping on the streets. Matt said he was glad he came along. After cooking up cinnamon rolls for the kids we got an early start catching the 7:30AM ferry to Bainbridge. The kids weren't too awake so we got them more sugar loaded breakfast rolls and cookies. After an hour ferry ride we traveled another 75 minutes to Port Angeles. As we were approaching it began misting and the temperature outside was only 55 degrees. We stopped at a Walmart to buy some long pants for Noelle, Greta, and I and a raincoat for myself. Oh, and not to forget the power ups....loads of candy!! We ate our packed lunches in the car so we were well fueled for our hike in the Olympic National park, Hurricane Ridge. As we were approaching the trail head the clouds began to dissipate and the sun came out. The main look out reminded us of the scene from "the sound of music". We had a 1.6 mile trek to the top where we had a 360 degree view of the Cascade mountains of Olympic National Park. The views were unbelievable. We got to the level of snow and even got within 10 feet of 2 deer. We took some panoramic photos with Jill's selfie stick and started our way back down the mountain. There were 2 other stops we were going to hit this day, Lake Crescent with a nearby waterfall and the Hoh Rainforest. Even though it would have been amazing we knew we had a long trip back. Instead we passed on those. All 3 kids, and Matt slept the way back to the ferry while I drove. We had a bit of a wait for the ferry so we walked around the terminal and bought some snacks. Once back to a Seattle we purchased a pizza from the restaurant next door for dinner and made it an early night.
Friday
Today Matt ran with me on my morning run again, this time we went the safer route, north along the water on the bike path....much better scenery. After being passed by an average built woman in her 40's, Matt instantly turned up the pace...we didn't talk about it at the moment but that clearly bugged him to be passed by a woman! Once back towards our condo we stopped at a store to stock up on groceries and made our way back to our condo. We made chocolate pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Matt wanted more of a chill day today so we started with a short swim in the hotel pool. After a merely 20 minutes everyone looked bored so we packed up the car and made our way to Snowqualamine Waterfall. We weren't able to hike to the bottom so we took photos up top and then had our picnic lunches in the car on our way to the REI headquarters. We gaucked at bags and watches and all that gear we wish we could have. Greta got a stuffed owl and a Northface purple multicolored backpack for kindergarten. Noelle got a new teal duffle bag that collapses real small. Matt passed on getting his new watch. Next we made our way to the Frederick Locks. Matt played tour guide as he shared the story of the salmons' life cycle. We then headed back to the condo to shower up and get fancy for our dinner out. I had a pre dinner drink (coconut flavored beverage), on the condo rooftop garden while Matt watched a Net flicks series with Noelle & Greta. This evening we told the older two kids they were in charge of choosing our dinner location. We ended up down at the Seattle pier at The Fisherman's Wharf restaurant. We were right on the water with the sun setting behind us. After dinner we walked back to the condo in search of ice cream. No such luck. We ended up buying some at the local corner store next to our condo. We again crashed rather early tonight....last night in the condo.
Saturday
Today I ran my running route solo. Once back we packed up and checked out of our condo. Our last adventure was the international fountain in Seattle. Noelle and Greta were the only brave ones to get wet. Next we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch and then made our way to the airport. We had a direct flight to Milwaukee. We got home to Stoughton at 11pm.
I think everyone enjoyed the trip....I certainly did. The older two said their favorite was biking through Stanley park. I think I'd have to agree. I did enjoy the grouse grind...especially seeing Greta make it to the top. We picked a good time of year to come here...any other time I think would have had rain. We all agree a skiing trip is in the horizon...maybe we will be back to Whistler?? Until next time....
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, July 15, 2017
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